For those of you who develop your ideas in a much
less linear way than is typically accommodated in business planning
exercises, check out this interactive game site, called SymbioCity, where you and your team can run through scenarios that might affecting your planning for a smart city.

The software borrows from video games and video simulations to walk
you through the implications of certain strategies and developments on
your community, such as urban sprawl, energy production, water supply
contamination. The scenarios last between 20 and 30 minutes.

Here’s the opening premise:

“You are the Mayor of an attractive city with more than
300,000 inhabitants. The city is experiencing a much stronger growth
than cities in nearby regions. In 20 years from now, the city will
double in size! As a result of increased urbanization, the city and its
environment will experience severe challenges, if growth is not dealt
with in a strategic and sustainable way.”

The game was developed by BTS Group,
which uses 3-D simulations and interactive games to help organizations
create strategies. It actually was first developed as a custom project
for the Swedish Trade Council, which was seeking to help create interest
in green technology. It uses some of the design principles used in
Stockholm’s own planning process.